Case Law[2022] ZASCA 79South Africa
National Director of Public Prosecutions v Moyane (474/2021) [2022] ZASCA 79 (31 May 2022)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
31 May 2022
Headnotes
Summary: Asset forfeiture – Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 – whether the vehicle was the proceeds of unlawful activities – substantial amount of money paid directly to the dealership for the purchase price emanated from third parties and was not accounted for – Procedure – full court treatment of evidence flawed – no real, genuine or bona fide dispute of fact arose on papers.
Judgment
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## National Director of Public Prosecutions v Moyane (474/2021) [2022] ZASCA 79 (31 May 2022)
National Director of Public Prosecutions v Moyane (474/2021) [2022] ZASCA 79 (31 May 2022)
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THE
SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
JUDGMENT
Not
reportable
Case
No: 474/2021
In
the matter between:
THE
NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF
PUBLIC
PROSECUTIONS
APPELLANT
and
TIMOTHY
FRANS
MOYANE
RESPONDENT
Neutral
Citation:
The National Director of Public
Prosecutions v Moyane
(474/2021)
[2022] ZASCA 79
(31 May 2022)
Coram:
ZONDI, GORVEN and HUGHES JJA and
MATOJANE and SMITH AJJA
Heard:
5 May 2022
Delivered:
31 May 2022
Summary:
Asset forfeiture –
Prevention of
Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998
– whether the vehicle was the
proceeds of unlawful activities – substantial amount of money
paid directly to the dealership
for the purchase price emanated from
third parties and was not accounted for – Procedure –
full court treatment of
evidence flawed – no real, genuine or
bona fide dispute of fact arose on papers.
ORDER
On
appeal from
: The Gauteng Division of
the High Court, Pretoria (Louw J, Jordaan AJ concurring, Fischer J
dissenting) sitting as a Full Court:
1
The appeal succeeds with costs.
2
The order of the full court of the Gauteng Division of the High
Court, Pretoria,
is set aside and is replaced with the following:
‘
1
An order is granted in terms of the provisions of s 50 of the
Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (the POCA) declaring
forfeit to the state certain property (the property), which is
presently subject to the preservation of property order granted
by
this Court under the above case number 51250/2011 on 9 September 2011
namely a 2010 Volkswagen 364 Scirocco motor vehicle with
registration
number [....];
2
The property shall vest in the State upon granting of the order;
3
The appointment of a
curator bonis
is dispensed with;
4 A
duly authorised employee of the Asset Forfeiture Unit is authorised
to:
4.1
Assume control of the property and take it into his/her custody;
4.2
Pay the proceeds of the property, once realized, into the Criminal
Asset Recovery Account established under s 63 of the POCA,
number
80303056, held at the South African Reserve Bank, Vermeulen Street,
Pretoria.
5
Any person whose interest in the property concerned is affected by
the forfeiture order, may, within 20 days after he or she has
acquired knowledge of such order, set the matter down for variation
or rescission by the Court.
6
The costs of the application are awarded to the applicant.’
JUDGMENT
Zondi
JA (Gorven and Hughes JJA and Matojane and Smith AJJA concurring):
[1]
This appeal, with special leave of this Court, concerns the question
of whether a
Volkswagen 364 Scirocco motor vehicle with registration
number [....] (the vehicle) represents ‘the proceeds of
unlawful
activities’ and/or is ‘an instrumentality of an
offence’ within the meaning of the Prevention of Organised
Crime
Act 121 of 1998 (the Act), and so liable to forfeiture under s
50(1)
(a)
of the Act. The vehicle is registered in the name of
one Albert Mathews Sithole (Sithole), who was the second respondent
in the
court of first instance. Although Sithole had filed a notice
to oppose the forfeiture application, he did not file an answering
affidavit setting out the basis of his opposition.
[2]
The appellant, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP),
applied for and
was granted a preservation order in terms of s 38 of
the Act in respect of the vehicle by the Gauteng Division of the High
Court,
Pretoria (the high court), on September 2011 on the basis that
the vehicle is an instrumentality of an offence and/or the proceeds
of unlawful activities. In subsequent forfeiture proceedings in terms
of s 48(1) of the Act, the high court (per Mavundla J sitting
as
court of first instance) found, amongst other things, that the
vehicle was an instrumentality of unlawful activity and ordered
its
forfeiture to the state. The learned judge granted the respondent, Mr
Timothy Frans Moyane (Moyane), leave to appeal to the
full court. On
appeal, the full court, of the same Division, in a majority judgment
(per Louw J and Jordaan J concurring), upheld
the appeal, set aside
the order of the court of first instance and replaced it with an
order dismissing the application with costs.
Fisher J dissented and,
in a minority judgment, held that she would have dismissed the appeal
with costs. Aggrieved by the order
of the full court, the NDPP sought
and obtained special leave of appeal from this Court.
[3]
It was accepted by the parties in the appeal before the full court
that the NDPP’s
case based on the allegation that the vehicle
was an instrumentality of an offence was not sustained by the
evidence on which the
NDPP relied. Therefore, the matter was
adjudicated on the basis of whether the NDPP had established that the
vehicle is the proceeds
of unlawful activities, namely money
laundering. I agree that was the correct approach, and I will
approach the issues in this
appeal on the same basis.
[4]
The appeal turns on whether the evidence adduced by the NDPP in
support of its case,
established that the concerned vehicle
represents the proceeds of unlawful activities. This is so because,
in terms of s 50 of
the Act,
[1]
as interpreted by this Court in
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v Parker,
the
onus is on the NDPP to prove on a balance of probabilities that it is
entitled to a forfeiture order.
[2]
[5]
Section 1 of the Act defines ‘proceeds of unlawful activities’
as ‘any
property or
any services, advantage
,
benefit or reward which was derived, received or retained, directly
or indirectly, in the Republic or elsewhere, at any time before
or
after the commencement of this Act, in connection with or as a result
of any unlawful activity carried on by any person, and
includes any
property representing property so derived.’
[6]
This Court, in
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v RO Cook Properties (Pty) Ltd,
held
that the definition requires that the property in respect of which a
forfeiture order is sought must have been ‘derived,
received or
retained’ ‘in connection with or as a result of’
unlawful activities.
[3]
The
proceeds must in some way be the consequences of unlawful activity.
[7]
Section 52, to which reference is made in s 50, permits a court to
exclude from the
operation of a forfeiture order certain interests in
the property concerned if it is shown by the applicant for such
exclusion
that the interest was legally acquired and that the
applicant ‘neither knew nor had had reasonable grounds to
suspect’
that the property in which the interest is held, is
the proceeds of unlawful activities.
[4]
[8]
As the NDPP is seeking final relief in the forfeiture proceedings,
any factual dispute
arising on the papers should be resolved in terms
of the
Plascon-Evans
rule
[5]
as
clarified by this Court in
National
Director of Public of Prosecutions v Zuma
.
[6]
In this case, this Court clarified the
Plascon-Evans
principle as follows:
[7]
‘
Motion
proceedings, unless concerned with interim relief, are all about the
resolution of legal issues based on common cause facts.
Unless the
circumstances are special, they cannot be used to resolve factual
issues because they are not designed to determine
probabilities. It
is well established under the
Plascon-Evans
rule that where in motion proceedings disputes of fact arise on the
affidavits, a final order can be granted only if the facts
averred in
the applicant's (Mr Zuma’s) affidavits, which have been
admitted by the respondent (the NDPP), together with the
facts
alleged by the latter, justify such order. It may be different if the
respondent’s version
consists
of bald or uncreditworthy denials, raises fictitious disputes of
fact, is palpably implausible, far-fetched or so clearly
untenable
that the court is justified in rejecting them merely on the papers.
The court below did not have regard to these propositions
and instead
decided the case on probabilities without rejecting the NDPP’s
version.’
[9]
As regards the meaning of a denial by the respondent of a fact
alleged by the applicant,
which may be sufficient to raise a real,
genuine or bona fide dispute of facts, this Court in
Wightman
t/a J W Construction v Headfour (Pty) Ltd and Another
held:
[8]
‘
A
real, genuine and
bona
fide
dispute of fact can exist
only where the court is satisfied that the party who purports to
raise the dispute has in his affidavit
seriously and unambiguously
addressed the fact said to be disputed. There will of course be
instances where a bare denial meets
the requirement because there is
no other way open to the disputing party and nothing more can
therefore be expected of him. But
even that may not be sufficient if
the fact averred lies purely within the knowledge of the averring
party and no basis is laid
for disputing the veracity or accuracy of
the averment. When the facts averred are such that the disputing
party must necessarily
possess knowledge of them and be able to
provide an answer (or countervailing evidence) if they be not true or
accurate but, instead
of doing so, rests his case on a bare or
ambiguous denial the court will generally have difficulty in finding
that the test is
satisfied. I say ‘generally’ because
factual averments seldom stand apart from a broader matrix of
circumstances all
of which needs to be borne in mind when arriving at
a decision. A litigant may not necessarily recognise or understand
the nuances
of a bare or general denial as against a real attempt to
grapple with all relevant factual allegations made by the other
party.
But when he signs the answering affidavit, he commits himself
to its contents, inadequate as they may be, and will only in
exceptional
circumstances be permitted to disavow them. There is thus
a serious duty imposed upon a legal adviser who settles an answering
affidavit to ascertain and engage with facts which his client
disputes and to reflect such disputes fully and accurately in the
answering affidavit. If that does not happen it should come as no
surprise that the court takes a robust view of the matter.’
[10]
This is the background against which I seek to determine the issue
identified in para 1 of the
judgment, namely whether the vehicle is
the proceeds of unlawful activities and if it is, whether it is
liable to forfeiture. Reverting
to the facts of this case, the
evidence relied upon by the NDPP is set out in affidavits by Advocate
Priyadarshnee Biseswar, the
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions
and of Sergeant Penuel Sithembiso Mathanda Ngwenyama (Sgt Ngwenyama)
of the Organised Crime
Unit, Nelspruit.
[11]
It appears from the evidence of Sgt Ngwenyama that Moyane had been
under police investigation
for the crimes of gold and diamond
smuggling, drug dealing and money laundering since 2008. During the
search and seizure operation
conducted by the police at Moyane’s
house, several items were seized, including a cash amount of R120 000
found hidden
under his mattress. It is common cause that the
forfeiture proceedings relating to this amount are still pending.
[12]
In November 2010, Sgt Ngwenyama conducted an asset search in the
course of the investigation
of Moyane. The search revealed that in
March 2010, Moyane acquired this vehicle, for which he paid an amount
of R538 320.
The acquisition was not subject to a credit
agreement. A substantial amount of the purchase price was paid by
various third parties
who Moyane claimed were his business associates
and/or friends. Three months later, after acquiring the vehicle,
Moyane caused
its ownership to be transferred to Sithole.
[13]
Sgt Ngwenyama investigated how the vehicle was acquired, first by
Moyane and later by Sithole.
His investigation revealed the
following: The vehicle initially belonged to Palm Motors, a
Volkswagen dealership in White River.
According to Ms Juanita Anne
Brinkman (Brinkman), a salesperson of Palm Motors, who was involved
in the sale of the vehicle to
Moyane, the latter had initially wanted
to have the vehicle registered in Mr Gideon Casey Mchirawondu’s
name (Mchirawondu).
Mchirawondu was with Moyane when the terms of
sale of the vehicle were discussed. But that became impossible as
Mchirawondu died
before Palm Motors could source the vehicle. It was
thus registered in Moyane’s name. Moyane denied that he had
told Brinkman
that the vehicle, once sourced, was to be registered in
Mchirawondu’s name. He contended that Brinkman must have
misunderstood
him because right from the beginning, he told her that
he was the purchaser of the vehicle and that it was to be registered
in
his name.
[14]
On 22 September 2009, Moyane deposited an amount of R20 000 in
cash into the bank account
of Palm Motors. Moyane claimed that he
withdrew this amount from his bank account held at First National
Bank (FNB). This cannot
be true because the bank statement for this
account for the period of 1 September 2009 to 1 December 2009
indicates that no cash
withdrawal of R20 000 was made from it on
22 September 2009 or shortly thereafter. This amount of R20 000,
therefore,
remains unaccounted for. It appears to me that Moyane’s
evidence regarding the source of this amount, which is quite
substantial,
was untruthful and is a fact which tends to strengthen
the NDPP’s case against Moyane.
[9]
[15]
On 1 February 2010, an amount of R100 000 was electronically
transferred into the bank account
of Palm Motors. This payment,
Moyane stated, was a loan emanating from the bank account of Richbar
CC belonging to his friend,
Aaron Mlambo. No particulars of the loan
were given, including whether it was in writing or oral. Since a
close corporation was
involved, and Mlambo was a friend, the very
least one would expect would be an excerpt from the books of that
entity. If this was
not available, it would be expected that Moyane
would say why this was the case.
[16]
On 2 February 2010, another electronic payment of R60 000 was
made into the bank account
of Palm Motors. The explanation given by
Moyane for this payment is that it was made by his business
associate, John Thembe, for
sub-contracting work Moyane’s
Chihudho Trading CC had performed on his behalf. Thembe had obtained
a tender from Eskom to
provide certain services to it. Thembe
provided such services through a close corporation in which he held
an interest, namely
Delta Blue Trading CC. Delta Blue Trading
sub-contracted the performance of some of the services to Eskom to
Moyane’s Chihudho
Trading CC. The payment was thus made
pursuant to the subcontracting agreement. Moyane had asked Thembe to
transfer monies due
to him directly into the account of Palm Motors
instead of Chihudho Trading CC. Moyane produced no underlying
documentation by
way of either invoices, book entries for either
close corporation, or contracts in support of his assertion that the
amount paid
to Palm Motors was for work Chihudho Trading CC had
rendered on behalf of Thembe’s Delta Blue Trading.
[17]
On 19 March 2010, two cash deposits in the amounts of R150 000
and R94 000, respectively,
were made into the account of Palm
Motors. The bank deposits indicate that the person who deposited
R150 000 was EN Ngwenya,
and the payer of R94 000 was John
Thembe. Moyane stated that the cash deposit of R150 000 from
Ngwenya was a fee for
a truck that Ngwenya had rented from Moyane and
his brother. Ngwenya is deceased and thus cannot confirm this
payment. But the
fact that Ngwenya is no longer available to confirm
this payment does not absolve Moyane from his obligation to secure
confirmation
of payment from his brother, the truck
'
s
co-owner, unless, of course, the payment was not disclosed to him.
Regarding the payment of R94 000, Moyane explained that
it was
paid by Thembe in terms of a subcontracting agreement entered through
Chihudho Trading CC for work done in accordance with
the arrangement
he had with Thembe.
[18]
On 20 March 2010, a cash deposit of R35 000 was made into Palm
Motors’s account. Thembe
is reflected in the bank deposit slip
as the payer of this amount. Moyane’s version is that it was
another payment for services
rendered by Chihudho Trading CC to
Thembe’s Delta Blue Trading. There are no supporting documents
such as invoices for the
payment received from Thembe. The financial
accounts of Chihudho Trading CC were not disclosed to indicate how
payments received
from Thembe were treated from an accounting point
of view. A further deposit of R9 400 was also made by Thembe,
presumably
also for subcontracting work.
[19]
Finally, a cheque payment of R70 000 was made to Palm Motors on
23 March 2010. Moyane claimed
that it was from his personal funds.
The cheque was drawn against Chihudho Trading CC’s account held
with First National
Bank, Nelspruit. A copy of this bank account
indicates that between 30 November 2009 and 19 March 2010, no
activity took place
on this account. On 19 March 2010, two cash
deposits in the amount of R11 200 and R60 000,
respectively, were made into
this account. Upon payment of the total
purchase price, Palm Motors transferred the vehicle into Moyane’s
name.
[20]
Moyane further stated that he generated sufficient income from his
two close corporations to
be able to afford the vehicle. He alleged
that he is a member with 50 per cent interest in Chihudho Trading CC
and a director of
Advisor Progressive College CC, and that these
entities are a source of his income. But he did not provide financial
statements
for these two entities in support of his claims. And, as
indicated, there are no records of any salary or drawings paid into
his
personal account.
[21]
As I have alluded to, within three months of acquiring the vehicle,
in June 2010, Moyane transferred
it into Sithole’s name for no
consideration. Sithole is physically challenged and unemployed. He is
a recipient of a disability
grant from the South African Social
Security Agency, and he does not have a driver’s licence.
[22]
Moyane admitted that he transferred the vehicle to Sithole.
This he did for two reasons, namely to keep it beyond the reach of
his
wife in the event of a divorce and secondly, to provide Sithole
with some form of an asset he could liquidate as and when he needed
money. Moyane explained that Sithole had been seriously injured in a
motor vehicle collision in November 2008, and it was out of
compassion that he gave Sithole his vehicle.
[23]
From the investigations conducted by the police regarding the
cross-border movement of the vehicle,
it emerged that between 25
February 2011 and 21 June 2011, Moyane used the vehicle on six
occasions. On these occasions, Moyane
travelled through Lebombo and
Beitbridge Border Posts. Again, accompanied by one Charmaine Mtshali,
Moyane went through the Beitbridge
Border Post on 17 March 2011.
[24]
Between 30 April 2010 and 9 July 2011, Sithole travelled through
Lebombo Border Post on six occasions,
not as a passenger or driver
but as a pedestrian. From the evidence regarding the vehicle's
movement, it does not seem that Sithole
used it. Even when the police
seized it on 30 September 2011, it was driven by Moyane’s wife,
and Sithole was nowhere near
the vehicle.
[25]
Sithole denied that the vehicle was acquired with the proceeds of
crime and/or acquired by way
of an affected gift as defined in the
Act.
[10]
He claimed that he
contributed to the purchase of the vehicle. However, Sithole provided
neither proof of his employment nor the
contribution he allegedly
made in respect of the vehicle. He also failed to produce proof of
his driver’s licence. What he
attached to his affidavit he
deposed to in terms of s 39(5) of the Act is a copy of his identity
document, not his driver’s
licence. Although Sithole had filed
a notice to oppose forfeiture proceedings, he failed to file his
answering affidavit. Moyane
sought to justify Sithole's failure to
file his answering affidavit on the basis that he was not available,
and was in Mozambique.
Moyane, though he claimed to have authority
from Sithole to depose to an affidavit on Sithole’s behalf,
failed to provide
proof of such authority.
[26]
The full court considered the allegations on which the NDPP relied
for the contention that the
vehicle was the proceeds of unlawful
activities and the version put up by Moyane to dispute the NDPP’s
allegations. To the
extent that there were factual disputes between
the NDPP’s version and that of Moyane, it resolved those
disputes in favour
of Moyane on the basis that it could not be said
that Moyane’s version ‘is palpably implausible,
far-fetched, or so
clearly untenable that [it] would be justified in
rejecting it on the papers.’
[27]
The full court stated that what the court of first instance could
have done was to refer the
factual disputes for oral evidence in
terms of rule 6(5)
(g)
of the Uniform Rules of Court. Although
it was competent for the full court in the exercise of its discretion
to make an order referring
the disputes for oral evidence,
notwithstanding that the NDPP had not asked for such referral, it
declined to do so on the basis
that the vehicle might have
significantly lost its value having regard to the time that had
passed since it was seized by the police
in September 2011. This was
not a correct basis for its failure to refer the disputed facts for
oral evidence, if indeed, this
was appropriate.
[28]
In my view, the full court’s approach to the assessment of the
evidence was flawed. The
evidence adduced by the NDPP in support of
its case established that the vehicle is the proceeds of crime. The
case for the NDPP
was that the vehicle was acquired through money
laundering. The majority of the funds to finance the vehicle emanated
from various
people and entities allegedly either as payment for
services rendered by Moyane’s Chihudho Trading CC on behalf of
such people
or entities or as a loan to him. In relation to the cash
deposit of R20 000 that Moyane paid to Palm Motors in September
2009,
Moyane gave an untruthful version regarding its source. The
NDPP established that it was not from the bank account, which he
claimed
was the source of the funds. If a cash deposit of R20 000
was from a legitimate source, why did he give an untruthful version
about its origin?
[29]
I am not satisfied that a real, genuine and bona fide dispute of fact
existed in this matter.
Moyane’s averments regarding the source
of funds for the purchase of the vehicle and his explanation why,
shortly after its
acquisition, he caused it to be registered in the
name of Sithole, were of general nature and failed substantially to
address the
facts he disputed. He failed to produce documents to
support his claims that the monies that were paid into the
dealership’s
account on his instruction were from legitimate
sources. These were all matters within his knowledge.
[30]
Moyane made bald allegations unsupported by any evidence or reason,
and which are designed simply
to attempt to create disputes of fact.
Moyane’s denials and averments failed to destroy the factual
foundation of the NDPP’s
case and are insufficient to raise a
real, genuine or bona fide dispute regarding the facts alleged by the
NDPP. The court of first
instance correctly rejected them.
[31]
In my view, the NDPP had made out a case for the relief it sought.
From the totality of the facts,
the inescapable inference is that the
funds were derived from unlawful activities and that the vehicle was
thus shown to have been
the proceeds of crime. Moreover, the fact
that shortly after its acquisition, it was registered in the name of
Sithole shows that
the whole purpose was to conceal or disguise its
ownership.
[32]
The full court should have approached the application upon the
foundation that Moyane had failed
to raise real, genuine and bona
fide disputes of fact in relation to the source of funds used to
finance the acquisition of the
vehicle and the reason for its
registration in the name of Sithole. That being the case, there was
no basis for referring the matter
to oral evidence.
[11]
[33]
In my view, the appeal should succeed. Regarding costs, it was
correctly submitted by counsel
for the NDPP that costs should be
limited to costs of one counsel, even though the NDPP employed two
counsel. This is the basis
on which the costs order should be
formulated.
[34]
In the result, I make an order in the following terms:
1
The appeal succeeds with costs.
2
The order of the full court of the Gauteng Division of the High
Court, Pretoria,
is set aside and is replaced with the following:
‘
1
An order is granted in terms of the provisions of s 50 of the
Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (the POCA) declaring
forfeit to the state certain property (the property), which is
presently subject to the preservation of property order granted
by
this Court under the above case number 51250/2011 on 9 September 2011
namely a 2010 Volkswagen 364 Scirocco motor vehicle with
registration
number [....];
2
The property shall vest in the State upon granting of the order;
3
The appointment of a
curator bonis
is dispensed with;
4
A duly authorised employee of the Asset Forfeiture Unit is authorised
to:
4.1
Assume control of the property and take it into his/her custody;
4.2
Pay the proceeds of the property, once realized, into the Criminal
Asset Recovery Account established under s 63 of the POCA,
number
80303056, held at the South African Reserve Bank, Vermeulen Street,
Pretoria.
5
Any person whose interest in the property concerned is affected by
the forfeiture order may within 20 days after he or she has
acquired
knowledge of such order, set the matter down for variation or
rescission by the Court.
6
The costs of the application are awarded to the applicant.’
D
H Zondi
Judge
of Appeal
Appearances
For
appellant:
J L van der Merwe SC (with S de Villiers)
Instructed
by:
The State Attorney, Pretoria
The
State Attorney, Bloemfontein
For
respondent: M van der
Westhuizen
Instructed
by:
Krause Attorneys Incorporated, Johannesburg
Honey
Attorneys, Bloemfontein
[1]
Section 50 of the Act provides as follows:
‘
(1)
The High Court shall, subject to section 52, make an order applied
for under section 48(1) if the Court finds on a balance
of
probabilities that the property concerned—
(a)
is an instrumentality of an offence referred to in Schedule 1; or
(b)
is the proceeds of unlawful activities.
(2)
The High Court may, when it makes a forfeiture order or at any time
thereafter, make any ancillary orders that it considers
appropriate,
including orders for and with respect to facilitating the transfer
to the State of property forfeited to the State
under such an order.
(3)
The absence of a person whose interest in property maybe affected by
a forfeiture order does not prevent the High Court from
making the
order.
(4)
The validity of an order under subsection (1) is not affected by the
outcome of criminal proceedings, or of an investigation
with a view
to institute such proceedings, in respect of an offence with which
the property concerned is in some way associated.
(5)
The Registrar of the Court making a forfeiture order must publish a
notice thereof in the Gazette as soon as practicable after
the order
is made.
(6)
A forfeiture order shall not take effect—
(a)
before the period allowed for an application under section 54 or an
appeal under section 55 has expired: or
(b)
before such an application or appeal has been disposed of.’
[2]
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v Parker
[2006] 1 All SA 317
(SCA) para 18.
[3]
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v R O Cook Properties (Pty) Ltd
[2004] ZASCA 36
2004(2) SACR 208 (SCA) para 64.
[4]
See
specifically s 52(2)
(b)(
ii).
Section 52 of the Act provides that:
‘
(1)
The High Court may, on application—
(a)
under section 48(3); or
(b)
by a person referred to in section 49(4), and when it makes a
forfeiture order, make an order excluding certain interests in
property which is subject to the order, from the operation thereof.
(2)
The High Court may make an order under subsection (1) if it finds on
a balance of probabilities that the applicant for such
an order—
(a)
had acquired the interest concerned legally; and
(b)
neither knew nor had reasonable grounds to suspect that the property
in which the interest is held—
(i)
is an instrumentality of an offence referred to in Schedule 1: or
(ii)
is the proceeds of unlawful activities.
(3)
(a)
If an applicant for an order under subsection (1) adduces
evidence to show that he or she did not know or did not have
reasonable
grounds to suspect that the property in which the
interest is held, is an instrumentality of an offence referred to in
Schedule
1, the State may submit a return of the service on the
applicant of a notice issued under section 51(3) in rebuttal of that
evidence
in respect of the period since the date of such service.
(b)
If the State submits a return of the service on the applicant of a
notice issued under section 51(3) as contemplated in paragraph
(a),
the applicant for an order under subsection (1) must, in addition to
the facts referred to in subsection (2)
(a)
and (2)
(b)
(i),
also prove on a balance of probabilities that, since such service,
he or she has taken all reasonable steps to prevent the
further use
of the property concerned as an instrumentality of an offence
referred to in Schedule 1.
(4)
A High Court making an order for the exclusion of an interest in
property under subsection (1) may, in the interest of the
administration of justice or in the public interest, make that order
upon the conditions that the Court deems appropriate including
a
condition requiring the person who applied for the exclusion to take
all reasonable steps, within a period that the Court may
determine,
to prevent the future use of the property as an instrumentality of
an offence referred to in Schedule 1.’
[5]
Plascon-Evans
Paints (TVL) Ltd. v Van Riebeck Paints (Pty) Ltd.
[1984] ZASCA 51
;
[1984] 2 All SA 366
(A);
1984 (3) SA 623
at 634E -635C.
[6]
National
Director of Public of Prosecutions v Zuma
[2009]
ZASCA 1
;
2009 (2) SA 277
(SCA);
2009 (1) SACR 361
(SCA);
2009 (4)
BCLR 393
(SCA);
[2009] 2 All SA 243
(SCA).
[7]
Ibid
para 26. (Footnotes Omitted.)
[8]
Wightman
t/a J W Construction v Headfour (Pty) Ltd and Another
[2008]
ZASCA 6
;
[2008] 2 All SA 512
(SCA);
2008 (3) SA 371
(SCA) para 13.
[9]
Smit
v Arthur
1976
(3) SA 378
(A) at 386A.
[10]
Section
12 of
Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998
defines it as
follows:
‘
(1)
In this Chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise—
“
affected
gift” means any gift—
(a)
made by the defendant concerned not more than seven years before
the fixed date;
(b)
made by the defendant concerned at any time, if it was a gift—
(i)
of property received by that defendant in connection with an offence
committed by him or her or any other person; or
(ii)
of property, or any part thereof, which directly or indirectly
represented in that defendant’s hands property received
by him
or her in that connection, whether any such gift was made before or
after the commencement of this Act.’
[11]
Lombaard
v Droprop CC and Others
[2010] ZASCA 86
;
2010 (5) SA 1
(SCA);
[2010] 4 All SA 229
(SCA) para
26.
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